Page 86 of Endless December (Sleepless November Saga 2)

The two of them smile and high five each other proudly, causing me to snicker. What am I going to do with them?

GETTING BACK TO THE Kappa house, Holden looks beat. A part of me wonders if he has another concussion, but I watched that fight. There’s no way he was hit hard enough to do any damage. Jason texted him, letting him know they won and making Holden grin from ear to ear.

“Come to bed with me.” He whispers into my ear.

I’m slightly muddled and my face shows as much. “You don’t want to stay up to celebrate?”

“No. It’s Valentine’s Day. I want to take you upstairs and have you all to myself.”

Loving the sound of that, I nod and say a quick goodnight to Jo. Holden follows me to his bedroom, but when we get to the door, he covers my eyes.

“What are you doing?” I ask through a giggle.

“Hold on.” He opens the door and walks us inside. I follow his lead blindly. “Okay. You can look now.”

He removes his hand and I open my eyes to see his room – lit solely by candles and covered in rose pedals. My breath hitches and I cling to my boyfriend as he wraps his arms around me.

“Babe, it’s beautiful.” I breathe.

“Eh.” He replies. “It doesn’t even begin to compare to you, but it’ll do.”

I spin around and jump – he catches me with ease. I kiss him in the way that screams everything I’m thinking. A year and a half ago, I thought he didn’t have a caring bone in his body. He proves me wrong more and more every day.

“I love you.” I mumble against his mouth.

His grip on my ass tightens as he carries me over to the bed. “I love you too, and I’m going to show you exactly how much.”

Chapter 29

We walk off the plane and down the jet-way, in route to our connecting flight. We’re currently on our way to Cabo for spring break. I had originally expected us to go with Holden’s family, like we did last year. According to him, however, that’s not the case.

“Will you please just tell me what the surprise is?” I beg.

Holden shakes his head. “No way. You’ll find out in like fifteen minutes anyway.”

“The surprise is here?” Okay, now I’m really confused.

I follow my boyfriend around the airport, knowing that if it were up to me, we would get lost in a heartbeat. He puts us on the air tram, which brings us to the next terminal without the need to go through security again. I’m holding his hand and thinking about how lucky I am as we walk to the waiting area for our next flight.

“You ready?” He questions.

I look up at him, completely bewildered, but he just smiles and gestures in front of us. Following his line of sight, I finally see my surprise. Emily and Brandon are leaning up against the wall, engrossed in a conversation. When she sees me, she grins broadly.

“Kayleigh!” She yells, running into my arms. I hug her tightly and look up at Holden.

“We’re all going together?!” I ask excitedly. He smirks and winks before going to say hello to Brandon.

“You have no idea how hard it was not to tell you.” Em remarks.

I smack her arm lightly. “You knew?!”

She giggles. “Of course, I knew. Do you really think my mother would let me go across the country with my new boyfriend if you weren’t going to be there?”

“Touché.” I briefly greet Brandon, and then tuck myself into Holden’s side. “You just love using my best friend to surprise me, don’t you?”

He shrugs and kisses the top of my head. “I see how happy she makes you, and I will always do whatever it takes to make you smile like that.”

I LYE ON THE beach next to Emily, letting my skin absorb the sun rays. The guys made sure to look up the best surfing locations, so while we relax, they’re in the water. Em is scrolling on her phone, smiling widely.

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